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Given ongoing discussions about drug law reform, the Drug Policy Modelling Program (DPMP) has put together a list of Australian and international reference material that addresses drug law reform explicitly. Our choice was guided by:

seminal pieces;

original contributions; and

a desire to include a range of articles including opinion pieces and research articles.

Key messages

Decriminalisation does not mean legalisation: decriminalisation removes criminal penalties for use/possession either by law (de jure) or by practice (de facto).

There is strong public support in Australia for decriminalisation approaches.

The research evidence indicates that decriminalisation of drug use:

Reduces the costs to society, especially the criminal justice system costs

Reduces social costs to individuals, including improving employment prospects

Does not increase drug use

Does not increase other crime

May, in some forms, increase the numbers of people who have contact with the criminal justice system (net widening)

Many countries around the world have decriminalised drug use and possession in various ways.

Australia currently has a mixture of de jure and de facto decriminalisation schemes for use and possession of illicit drugs: but decriminalisation is not universal. Accordingly, many people continue to be sent to court for possession of only minor quantities of drugs.

There is an opportunity to expand decriminalisation for drug use in Australia, particularly through de jure decriminalisation schemes targeting all illicit drugs. This may further reduce costs to the criminal justice system and to individuals.

What does the research evidence tell us about the effects of decriminalisation?

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DPMP Resources

Resources found in this section include: a range of publications not captured in the publications section of the website, including reports, monographs, and bulletins; tools, such as bibliographies; details on past events, including agendas and presentations from the events, where relevant; and other miscellaneous ouputs.